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Cardinal Urges Africa’s Catholic Journalists to Amplify Aspirations of Migrants, Refugees

Participants attending the training that the African region of the World Catholic Association for Communication, SIGNIS Africa, organized in Kampala, Uganda. Credit: Sr. Adelaide Felicitas Ndilu

The Vatican-based Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) has urged Catholic journalists in Africa to amplify the aspirations of migrants and refugees.

In his message to Catholic journalists participating in the Uganda training that the African region of the World Catholic Association for Communication, SIGNIS Africa, organized, Michael Cardinal Czerny acknowledges the “privileged position” that Catholic journalists have in making known the “cry” of migrants and refugees.

“Journalists have the responsibility to offer a new narrative, putting our migrant siblings, together with their families, at the center, linking their sufferings and aspirations to the causes of their migration – to the ‘why’ behind their being forced to flee – so as to connect with solutions that would end or heal their displacement,” Cardinal Czerny says in his message shared with ACI Africa on Wednesday, July 12.

“As journalists, you are in a privileged position to listen to their cry and make their  aspirations known to the world,” the Cardinal adds in the message that was delivered to the SIGNIS Africa workshop participants at St. Mary’s National Seminary, Ggaba, in Uganda’s Kampala Archdiocese on Tuesday, July 11. 

In amplifying the voices of migrants and refugees, Cardinal Czerny says that Catholic journalists “become contributors to the practice of good politics, bridging the aspirations of migrant people and offering recommendations towards possible solutions to their plight.”

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“By promoting the right to remain in dignity and security in one’s own land, you are contributing to the good politics which is so badly needed,” the Canadian-born member of the Society of Jesus says in his message to Catholic journalists participating in the SIGNIS Africa July 10-16 training under the theme, “Effective Coverage and Reporting on Migrants and Refugees.”

Organized in collaboration with the Africa Coordination of DPIHD and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide), participants in the ongoing training hail from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, as well as from France, Thailand, the U.S.

In his message Cardinal Czerny highlights factors behind the situation of migrants and refugees, saying, “famine; new and protracted conflicts; persecution, natural disasters, wars; etc. make it impossible to continue living a decent and developing life in one’s homeland.”

Such factors, he continues, “force around 35 million refugees to abandon their homes, crossing international borders, plus, twice as many, 71 million persons displaced internally.”

“If we listen carefully to each migrant or refugee or displaced person, we discover that their strongest desire is to go back to their place and live with decency and security. But until the causes forcing them to flee are addressed, no solution is possible,” the 76-year-old Cardinal says.

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He invites Catholic journalists in Africa to “explore the Pastoral Orientations on Intercultural Migrant Ministry and the good practices of many communities throughout the world in their efforts to enlarge the tent.”

“As journalists, you are also dwellers in this tent, invited to promote the dignity of all people and the right to remain in their own land,” the 76-year-old Cardinal who was appointed Prefect of the DPIHD in January 2022 says.

He goes on to implore, “May the Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word poured out from the heart of the Father, help us to make Catholic communication clear, open and heartfelt.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.